In an twist of musical irony, the New York nutsos in Battles lose their most prominent member — vocalist/guitarist/sound manipulator Tyondai Braxton — and end up sounding more like an actual band. The slap-happy math-rock ambience and Looney Toons–ish effects-pedal giddiness of Mirrored, their critically worshipped debut, remain intact, but these arrangements feel less choppy and more fully developed. Gloss Drop is another infectious, drug-induced carousel ride in which electric guitars sound like short-circuiting circus organs and drums punch through the mix like atom bombs — but there's a distinctly multi-cultural vibe here, as on opener "Africastle," which builds from Old West atmospherics into a thunderous cacophony of African rhythms. And though Braxton's lunatic loop-station vocals are missed, the eclectic guest stars — including Boredoms vocalist Yamantaka Eye and Blonde Redhead's Kazu Makino — fill the void nicely. (Personally, I could have done with more Gary Numan on the pummeling "My Machines.") Mirrored kicked ass from start to finish, yet it often came across like a series of excellent (if unfinished) loops. Ever-shifting numbers like "Inchworm," a possible soundtrack to Willy Wonka's psychedelic canoe voyage through hell, always feel like they're headed somewhere. Funky in only the most fucked-up ways, this is world music from another world.

DevilDriver | Beast Would it be blasphemous to compare DevilDriver with the almighty Pantera? Sure, perhaps. But the only reference for the bludgeoning brutality of Beast is the latter days of the Texas-based metal militants and their pushing of the envelope into breakneck energy, aggression, and power

A triumphant Reks returns home after a Euro blitz Thank the good lord Nas for Europe. Say what you will about their snotty languages and odd sneakers, young people in urban Denmark, France, and Germany have kept sophisticated hardcore hip-hop alive, allowing savants like Lawrence native Reks to win a slice of the success that he deserves.

Screw the Ides of March — beware Bodega Girls When music writers start playing the futures game, it's usually a good idea to take our prognostications with a grain of salt. That said, if there's one wager you can bet the house on this year, it's that Boston's Bodega Girls will spend 2011 on a giant winning streak, whether they like it or not. Lock it up.

R.E.M. | Collapse Into Now It's tough for a band nearly 30 years into their singularly influential career not to dissolve into an adjective. But R.E.M. have taken their moniker on quite a musical journey.

The Dodos | No Color Francisco duo the Dodos, makes a lot of broad statements on the band's fourth studio album. Fortunately, the music fills in the blanks

Wye Oak | Civilian Very quietly, Wye Oak have put together an impressive run. Not musically quiet, of course — their specialty is massive guitarscapes that seem an impossibility from just a duo.

ATLAS GENIUS | WHEN IT WAS NOW | February 20, 2013 Atlas Genius are schooled students of modern pop architecture, seamlessly bouncing from Coldplay-styled acoustic rock to fizzy Phoenix funkiness to deadpanned Strokes-ian guitar chug. But When It Was Now is more like an alt-pop NOW compilation than a joyous synthesis.

FOALS | HOLY FIRE | February 11, 2013 Even at their most expansive, Foals are digging into more primal territory.